AN electric vehicle startup has slashed its prices to avoid bankruptcy after a major business move with another automaker fell through.
The California-based company, Fisker, changed the suggested retail price for the 2023 Ocean electric SUV lineup in the US by thousands of dollars.
The lineup comes equipped with Fisker’s 2024 Ocaen OS software version 2.0.
Fisker lowered the MSRP for the 2023 Ocean Extreme trim from $61,499 to $37,499, the company said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the 2023 Ultra Trim will be priced at $34,499, down from its original price of $52,999.
The 2023 Sport will also be listed at $24,999, down from $39,999, according to the automaker.
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Fisker added that some of the Ocean cars will have as much as $7,000 worth of additional options, which are included in the discounted prices and will take effect on Friday.
In a statement, Fisker said that it “is strategically positioning the all-electric Ocean SUV to be a more affordable and compelling EV choice, competitively available to EV buyers in the broadest possible market, and constantly improving via frequent Over-the-air (OTA) software updates.”
However, industry experts believe the company may still file for bankruptcy.
“It’s sad to see any company go bankrupt, but we expect to see more of them in the EV space,” Thomas Hayes, chairman of Great Hill Captial, told Fox Business.
“At the end of the day, it is unclear whether people actually want EVs, or they simply want Teslas.”
Hayes added that there was a difference because one is a commodity while the other – Tesla – is a brand, lifestyle, and ideology.
“That said, in the EV space — over time — there will be Tesla and the major incumbent ICE [internal combustion engine] producing OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] left standing, namely those OEMs who continue to choose to — or are forced by governments — to produce EVs,” he added.
The news came just a few days after the New York Stock Exchange announced that it would delist Fisker’s shares because the “stock is no longer suitable for listing based on abnormally low price levels.”
A filing from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed that the unnamed automaker that Fisker was in business dealings with had ended negotiations on March 22.
If Fisker files for bankruptcy, it will be the second failed startup from CEO Henrik Fisker.
Fisker Automotive filed for bankruptcy in 2013.
